Summer isn’t
“officially” here, but Summer League Swimming is definitely here at
Splashwear! We have been swamped with
summer swimmers buying their suits, goggles, equipment and other fun swim stuff
the last month or so. I love this time
of year. We are super busy and I get to
see so many cute little beginner swimmers.

It always takes
me back to my own little summer swimmer.
My daughter, Chelsea, who is now 27 years old, started her swimming
career 20 years ago. A family friend,
invited her to join the local, neighborhood swim team. The Lakewood Waves, was the team sponsored
by our neighborhood property owner’s association. She loved this friend, so decided she wanted to try it! I took her to her first practice. It was a night practice in the outdoor
pool. The pool was packed and they
didn’t have lane lines up…so it was pretty much, bedlam. They told her to jump in and go…..so she
did! She got half way across the pool
and started to panic. We had to get her
out and make sure she swam against the wall….just so she would feel safe. I really thought that would be it for her….I
thought she would be too scared to go back.
But, much to my surprise, the next night she was ready to go. Of course, she was a beginner, but she
progressed steadily and really enjoyed it.

Her first
coach was a young lady named Amy.
Chelsea loved Coach Amy. Amy was
so encouraging, patient and loving to my daughter. She carried a bag of “treats” with her to pass out when a swimmer
did something outstanding. It was just
small things, like balls, fingernail polish….just whatever she found. The kids loved it and would work so hard to
earn the privilege of “shopping” in Coach Amy’s bag. Coach Amy seemed to take a special interest in Chelsea….maybe
because she had to be rescued the first night….or maybe because Chelsea never
complained and worked really hard….or maybe she just treated everyone like
that…..whatever it was, Chelsea adored her and
I know she had a lot to do with Chelsea’s love of the sport. All the way through Chelsea’s swimming
career, we continued a tradition Coach Amy started with Chelsea that first
summer. Before every race, Coach Amy
would go up to Chelsea at the starting blocks and sing quietly in her ear,
“Chelsea’s gonna swim faaaaast”. It
always made Chelsea smile and gave her that little bit of encouragement. It was so amazing….I will never forget Coach
Amy for that! So…even though Coach Amy
was only there the one year, I continued the tradition for many years and it
still makes Chelsea and I smile when we think of it. At the end of Chelsea’s first year of swimming, at the Meet of
Champs, she ended up winning a first place ribbon in the backstroke. That was so amazing, that she was awarded
with the Most Improved Swimmer on her team. A great year for my little girl.

That first
year, led to another summer season…then that led to swimming year around….which
led to college swimming for my daughter.
I was lucky enough to have my daughter swim at the same college I swam
for. It was a great experience for both
of us. She now is a dolphin trainer at
Sea World in Orlando, Florida. All of
the success she has achieved started with summer league swimming!

I loved it back when my daughter started and I still love it
now. I am lucky enough to have several
swim teams buy their suits and equipment from me for their summer season. Our most popular brand suit is the Q
Swimwear Custom suit. Summer teams love
having a suit design all their own and they never have to worry about it not
being available. They will be able to
get that same print forever. The prices
are comparable to other off the rack brands too. It’s a winner…that’s for sure!
But, if a custom suit isn’t what your team needs, we carry all the major
brands and we would love to outfit you and your team! We have suits in all price ranges and styles. Here are some examples:

If you want to see a free design for your team, just email me with your team name, mascot and colors and I'll put one together for you! You can send that info to Jeannie@swimmerstuff.com.